


Too Good to Last

by westofwords



Category: Degrassi, Degrassi High, Degrassi Junior High
Genre: M/M, They're just silly, he has a dog in djh s1 & he's the main character now, he loves joey platonically ONLY, takes place post djh s2 & pre s3, unnamed boy makes wheels go heart eyes, wheels is gay!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westofwords/pseuds/westofwords
Summary: Wheels is a repressed gay in the 80s who named his dog after (and crushed on) Kiefer Sutherland
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Too Good to Last

As much as he'd never admit it, Wheels was quite thankful for a break.

He loved Joey- really, he did- but spending the whole summer practicing the same song over and over again could get a bit tiring at times. At this point, Wheels figured he might as well get 'everybody wants something' tattooed on his eyelids.

So when Joey called at 8:30 in the morning (completely ridiculous for a summer weekend) saying that his mom was forcing him on a day trip to visit some family, Wheels wasn't too disappointed. It was nice to have just one day where he'd get a break playing until his fingers cramped and a break from another of his parents lectures for being home late.

Still, there was only a week and a half left of summer break, he had to do something.

It was nearing ten and even though he hadn't been up and awake for too long, Wheels was already starting to grow antsy and bored of just sitting around the house.

He could hear his mom in the other room getting ready for work, his dad having already left a couple hours before. A familiar high pitched bark came from outside the door, followed soon by whining and scratching. 

Wheels was unable to suppress a smile as he shook his head, standing up to go let the small dog in. His mom reached the door at the same time as he did, swinging it open from the outside.

Kiefer burst into the room with an energy unmatched by any dog Wheels had met so far in his life. He took a couple laps around the small bedroom, before jumping up and pawing at Wheels legs, resuming his whining until Wheels picked him up, cradling him and scratching him behind the ears.

His mother let out a small laugh as the sight, obviously having been halfway through finishing her makeup before a certain someone had started demanding attention.

"Derek, listen," she began, talking as she walked back down the hall and to her room,  
"I'm already running late and I don't think your father took him out this morning. You'll take him for a walk, won't you?"

Kiefer squirmed in Wheels' arms, letting out another small yip. 

"Sure." Wheels replied, letting the small dog jump down onto his bed.

"Thank you!" His mother called. She appeared a couple minutes later in his doorway, now fully ready for work.

Wheels, having gotten dressed in the meantime, kneeled on the ground, playfully roughhousing with the dog still on the bed. 

Kiefer yipped and barked, trying to bite at Wheels' hand. His mother leaned down to kiss the top of his head, smoothing some of his hair out after.

"I'll be back around four, your father should be ho-"

"-home by five," Wheels finished, looking up at his mom and smiling, "I know."

She nodded, giving Kiefer a quick scratch on the head before leaving the room.

Wheels heard her collecting a few things from around the living room before finally unlocking and opening the door.

"Have a good day, Derek!" She called to him, before shutting the door behind her.

Wheels let out a small sigh, looking out his window and watching her walk down the street. Once she was out of sight, Wheels looked back over at Kiefer, smiling and standing up.

The dog stared at him with big, focused eyes, watching as Wheels walked over to his door and into the hall. They had a small shelf in the hallway to keep things in, usually his parents used it for car keys, but it also happened to be where they kept the leash.

Wheels peaked back into the bedroom, locking eyes with the dog.

"C'mon, boy." 

And in a flash, the dog was by his side, yipping and running around him in circles as he tried to get to the door.

Wheels managed to get him calm enough to hook the leash on, but as soon he opened the door Kiefer was at it again. Despite how small the dog was, he practically dragged Wheels down the front steps, only calming once they were actually on the sidewalk and going at a steady pace.

It was a nice day, albeit identical to every single other so far that summer. Still, it was hard to complain about the sameness when the sameness was so perfect.

Kiefer seemed to be enjoying it as well, trotting along happily, occasionally stopping to sniff something or someone.

Wheels was so distracted watching his dog, he wasn't paying any bit of attention to where he was walking. Which was likely why he didn't realize he was about to run into someone until they'd already collided. 

Wheels stumbled back, steadying himself on a wall and having to tug on the leash to keep Kiefer from running ahead.

He opened his mouth to say something, but lost all the words as he saw who it was.

It wasn't someone he knew, per say, but just someone he'd seen around. A boy around his age who worked, he assumed, at a music shop a few blocks from Joey's house.

The boy hadn't even addressed Wheels yet, scrambling to pick up a bunch of papers that had fallen loose from a folder he had with him.

Wheels couldn't help but stare for another moment, feeling some sort of heat rise in his cheek and pulling feel in his chest.

"Sorry-" he finally managed, leaning over to help collect a few of the papers that'd landed around him.

"Oh, no, I'm sorry!" The boy insisted, smiling as he took the papers back from Wheels. "I've gotta get better about watching my way around, always someone in some sort of hurry. 

Wheels had no idea what that meant. But despite himself, he laughed, nodding in agreement. 

The boy smiled at him, seeming to look him over for a moment before discovering the cause of the collision.

"Oh!" He exclaimed excitedly, crouching down to pet Kiefer. "And who's this."

It took a moment for what he said to register, Wheels barely able to hear himself think over his heartbeat pounding in his ears, though he couldn't pinpoint why.

"My dog- or, my mom's really. Kiefer."

Kiefer looked up at his name, but went right back to reveling in the attention of this stranger.

"Kiefer? Like Sutherland?"

"Exactly!" Said Wheels, a bit too enthusiastically.

But the boy didn't seem to mind. He smiled again, sending another rush of heat to Wheels neck and cheeks.

"Never thought of that for a dog name, but I like it."

Wheels nodded, trying to figure out what to say next. He looked around, eyes landing on a large guitar case propped on the wall. 

"You play?" He questioned, looking over at the case to avoid making eye contact again.

"No, definitely not." The boy stood up, picking up the case and tucking the folder he had under his arm and pointing to the store he’d come out of. "My uncle owns the music shop, I help out during summer. He wanted me to run this stuff back to his house, but I got a bit distracted."

He gestured down to Kiefer, who stared up at the both of them, tail wagging.

"Say," he continued, looking back over at Wheels now, "it's just a couple streets over. Little Kiefer looks like he could get some more energy out. Walk with me?"

Wheels wanted to say yes, but didn't want to come off as weird, or desperate. He didn’t want to come off as anything, really.

"I don't know-" he started, getting cut off quickly. 

"C'mon, I'd already be there if it weren't for you two. You owe me this much."

Wheels laughed, unable to argue with that logic. Or maybe he was able, and just unwilling. 

"Alright, you talked me into it."

The boy's face lit up in a way that sent sparks through Wheels' whole body. He knew he shouldn't be feeling this way about something so small, but how could he help it?

The boy traded his folder for Kiefer's leash, leading Kiefer and Wheels both along the streets.

He talked and talked about a dozen things, how much he wished he lived here full time and not just for summer, what movies he'd seen recently, who's new tapes were coming out soon.

Wheels hardly registered half of it. Between him and the real dog, Wheels certainly looked much more like the love struck puppy. He could have listened to this stranger talk about anything for hours.

It was a feeling that, from an outside perspective, could only be described as smitten. But Wheels didn't realize this. For years, he'd been convinced feelings like this were how everyone felt when making a new friend. It was normal, wasn't it?

He'd never felt this with girls, although part of him knew he should. He'd walked with many girls, to and from school, on “dates”. Never had he felt the urge like this to grab and hold their hand like he did right now. Never had their smiles and laughs made him feel this light and excited.

It was too good of a feeling to last, and before he knew it, they were at the gate of a small house near the edge of town. 

The boy gave him Kiefer's leash back and Wheels tried to ignore the shock he felt when their hands touched as he handed over the folder.

"Well." The boy said, looking around. 

"Well." Wheels echoed, earning another wonderful, light laugh.

"Well," the boy began again, "I guess I'll be seeing you around. And Kiefer too, hopefully."

"Yeah!" Wheels agreed quickly, backpedaling as soon as he realized how dumb he must have sounded. "Hopefully. See you around."

"Bye." 

And with a final smile, and one last glance over his shoulder, the boy disappeared inside the house.

Wheels stood for a moment, staring at the shut front door. He felt like he was on another planet, flushed and breathless even though next to nothing had happened.

“Bye.”

Kiefer tugged on his leash, giving a small yip to try and get Wheels' attention again.

Wheels smiled, at the house and then again at the dog. He let out a small, breathless laugh before finally beginning his walk home.


End file.
